Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and exercises for Economics for University

Chapter 1: Introduction to Operations and Supply Chain Management

What is Operations Management?

19) The collection of people, technology, and systems within an organization that has primary responsibility for providing the organization's products or services is called:

B) the operations function.

Understanding Supply Chains

20) Which of the following is NOT a flow typically found in a supply chain?

D) risk

21) Which of the following is primarily a supply chain management decision?

A) from whom to purchase materials

22) ________ is an example of an output of the transformation process.

C) Satisfied customers

23) Which of the following statements about the operations function is NOT correct?

C) The outputs of an operations function are always tangible.

24)

The Degree of Product Acceptance

by the market over time. 'An attempt to recognize distinct stages in sales history of the product' during its life span (Kotler). Evolution of the sales and benefits from the product's launch until its recall. The duration of each stage isn't identical; they can be lengthened, repeated or not even produced at all. Classic stages are:

• Introduction:
• Uncertainty stage.
• The organization risks in choosing the marketing mix variables (4Ps+).
• Higher costs. Limited benefits. Lower sales.
• Basic versions of the product.
• Performances:
  • Attract innovators
  • Activate demand
  • Modifications in products to adapt to what demand wants/needs
• Courses of action:
  • Prestige strategy, higher prices, exclusive or selective distribution, good communication

Job Analysis

Job analysis is the systematic process of determining the skills, duties, and knowledge required for performing jobs in an organization.

A job consists of a group of tasks that must be performed for an organization to achieve its goals. A position is the collection of tasks and responsibilities performed by one person;

Job analysis is performed on three occasions: (1) when the organization is founded and a job analysis program is initiated for the first time; (2) when new jobs are created; and (3) when jobs are changed significantly as a result of new technologies, methods, procedures, or systems.

The Job Description

The job description is a document that provides information regarding the essential tasks, duties, and responsibilities...

• Modes of International Business

  • Merchandise Exports & Imports

-This is the most common mode of international business.

-Merchandise exports and imports are tangible products. They can be seen leaving and entering a country.

• • Services Exports & Imports

They are international non-product sales and purchases.

• • • Tourism and Transportation:

Are important sources of revenue for airlines, shipping companies, travel agencies, and hotels.

• • • Performance of Services

This refers to company's earnings in the form of fees (payments for the performance of a service).

1. Turnkey Operation

Is a deal where a company takes all responsibility for constructing, fitting and staffing a building (such as a school, hospital or factory) so that it is completely ready for the purchaser...

Crafting Effective Paragraphs

Organizing Your Ideas

Categorization: One effective way to organize your ideas is by sorting them into categories. If an idea doesn't fit, set it aside for later. As you sort, new ideas may emerge; include them if they are relevant. Consider how one writer organized her thoughts on the topic: "I always liked my aunt Alicia best."

Writing Paragraphs

Each paragraph should revolve around one central, controlling idea, often expressed in a topic sentence. Supporting details then develop this main idea by providing evidence, clarification, or elaboration.

Topic Sentences

A topic sentence can be a statement or a question. Regardless of its form, a good topic sentence clearly conveys the main idea and engages the reader. Your...

Principles of Economics

Scarcity and Economics

Scarcity refers to the limited nature of society's resources. Economics is the study of how society manages its scarce resources.

How People Make Decisions

1. People Face Tradeoffs

Every decision involves tradeoffs. A significant tradeoff society faces is between:

• Efficiency: When society gets the most from its scarce resources.
• Equality: When prosperity is distributed uniformly among society's members.

Tradeoff Example: To achieve greater equality, income could be redistributed from the wealthy to the poor. However, this can reduce the incentive to work and produce, shrinking the overall economy.

2. The Cost of Something Is What You Give Up to Get It

Decision-making requires comparing the costs and benefits...

Analysis of Business Environment

Companies and organizations are open systems that are in continuous interaction with the environment. Therefore, we must consider external factors (the environment) that may affect our business. The company does not control the environmental factors. Those are considered strategic factors that can have a significant impact (positive or negative) on the results of the company.

There are two types of environment:

• The general environment (common to all firms operating in the same social, economic, political, and technological context - PESTEL analysis)
• The competitive or specific environment (different for each sector - Porter's Five Competitive Forces analysis).

1. Analysis of the General Environment (PESTEL)

Political...

Approaches to Business Market

Production Orientation: Industrial Revolution

Characterized by the principle that all produced goods are sold. This approach prevailed during the Industrial Revolution, where new products were readily sold.

Product Orientation: Since the First Half of the Nineteenth Century

The focus shifted to producing goods with a certain degree of quality, assuming they would sell at an acceptable price.

Sales Orientation: Economic Growth Since the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century

A strong sales network was seen as the solution to output production in a competitive environment.

Marketing Orientation

Achieving long-term goals. Marketing is often used synonymously with advertising, sales, and market research. It can have negative...

Monopoly and Consumer Harm

Monopolies reduce production to raise prices, benefiting at the expense of consumers. This conflict of interest differs from perfect competition. Monopolies cause inefficiency: consumer losses exceed monopolist gains. By producing less than where marginal cost equals market price, monopolies increase profits but harm consumers.

Reducing output and raising prices above marginal cost allows monopolies to capture consumer surplus as profit, creating deadweight loss. In a monopoly, total surplus (consumer surplus and profit) is less than in perfect competition, resulting in a net loss to society. Individuals who value the good above its marginal cost are left without it due to high monopoly prices, indicating a market failure....

Theory of Indifference Curves

Developed by Prof. Thomas S. Alvarez

ECONOMICS AND INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATION I

Indifference Curves

The table below shows points in four different indifference curves for a consumer.
(a) Draw the indifference curves I, II, III, and IV on the same set of axes.
(b) What are indifference curves?

I II III IV
Qx Qy Qx Qy Qx Qy Qx Qy
2 13 3 12 5 12 7 12
3 6 4 8 5.5 9 8 9
4 4.5 5 6.3 6.3 8.3 9 7
5 3.5 6 5 7 7 10 6.3
6 3 7 4.4 8 6 11 5.7
7 2.7 8 4 9 5.4 12 5.3

(a)

(b) Indifference curves graphically display the tastes and preferences of consumers (in the analysis of utility, the total utility curve introduced consumer tastes). The consumer is indifferent to all the various combinations of X and Y on the same indifference curve...